Recent court rulings, one involving the city of Bethlehem, have been limiting membership in police and fire bargaining units to rank-and-file members in a movement some feel could have far-reaching repercussions.

Commonwealth Court recently upheld a Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board decision that said six Bethlehem police captains are not to be included in that city's police bargaining unit, the Fraternal Order of Police, Star Lodge No. 20.

Weeks before that decision, a federal circuit court upheld a Vicksburg, Miss., court decision removing 13 fire department captains in that city from the department's bargaining unit, Local 1686 of the International Associations of Fire Fighters (IAFF). Ironically, one of those captains was the president of the local.

In both instances, the court rulings had essentially the same basis - captains hold a supervisory or managerial type of function in their respective departments.

LaBuda said he's had some indication thecity administration may be moving along that line. And Bruneio, noting it was tried unsuccessfully several years ago in Easton, feels the administration may be leaning that way again.

Allentown officials don't expect the movement to reach into their city.

Richard Suppan, president of Queen City Lodge No. 10, FOP, said the police captains in Allentown are recognized by the city as part of the bargaining unit.

He said because the city recognizes the lodge as the bargaining unit for the police, "The FOP has no plans to seek certification from the PLRB."

He feels such a move would only open the door to problems and said that move was the cause of the Commonwealth Court decision in the case of Bethlehem's police captains.

There, Star Lodge No. 10 filed for formal certification as a bargaining unit with the PLRB. Before that action in 1983, captains had always been considered part of the bargaining unit that negotiates contracts with the city.

The city, however, challenged inclusion of the captains, a challenge the PLRB and, subsequently, the court upheld.

Commonwealth Court based its decision on a prior ruling involving a western Pennsylvania township. In that case, the court upheld the PLRB definition of managerial employees, to include persons who formulate policy, develop and change programs, represent departments in public, prepare budgets, make purchasing decisions, recommend hiring and have authority to initiate disciplinary actions.

Meanwhile, Michael Grim, president of Local 302, IAFF, said he has not been approached by Allentown's administration concerning removal of officers from the bargaining unit, other than those now excluded, the chief and his two assistants.

Grim said the department's contract classifies all officers (deputy chiefs, lieutenants and inspectors) as "working officers.

"They can't be removed from the bargaining unit because of (their being classified as working officers)," maintains Grim.

He also said the PLRB looks at a bargaining unit member from the viewpoint of his being "a working officer or a supervisory officer."

Allentown Fire Chief Ernest Toth adds, "I haven't had any problem with my officers being in the union. And if it happens that an officer, who might also be holding a union officer position, has problems functioning, in my opinion, I'll ask that man to relinquish his union post."

Toth recognizes that being a member of the union brings junior officers "more benefits than those extended my two assistant chiefs, and for that matter, myself."

One benefit he referred to relates to the current contract which granted the rank-and-file members and junior officers pay increases while the salaries of the chief and his two assistants were frozen.

Toth, as has Mayor Joseph S. Daddona on several occasions in the past, said that union problems in Allentown are virtually non-existent "because I have an open door policy and willingly discuss problems with Grim whenever a problem arises.

"We have been able to work out those problems satisfactorily to both sides because we can sit down and talk intelligently about any issue," said Toth.